Computer-based systems for configuring a customised merchandise are known, for example from the car sales market, where a user through a software-based program can chose car parameters, such as colour, decorative elements, equipment packages, engine size, etc, and then place his order. The resulting customisation may also be presented as real-time modifications of the car's appearance. Mutually conflicting selections are not possible. For example, it is not possible to select broad tyres alone as an option to an economy version of the car, since broad tyres is an option associated with certain rim types, wherefore new rims must then be chosen.
P. Conti et al (“Integrating expert systems for high-performance liquid chromatographic method development”. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 11, 27-35 (1991)) describes a complex expert system for high-performance liquid chromatographic method development. The expert system is obtained by linking several small stand-alone expert systems (modules), each representing a part of the entire domain. The authors of the article have attempted to solve the problem of how to create expert systems for high-performance liquid chromatography by making stand-alone chemical separation modules cooperate with each other.
The process of selling a customised chemical separation system is a laborious process for both sales persons as well as buyers. The process starts when a customer presents his specific requirements to the sales person. If the customer's needs cannot be met with available products, a project team which includes technicians from the selling and buying companies is formed. For complex cases, a project leader may also have to be involved. The process may, especially for complex systems, require many months, typically 6-12 months, before the system is operational. Customised products, requiring project teams for their creation, often generate very poor profits for the sales company.
Thus, there is a need for making the customisation process more rapid, in order to free sales resources and decrease the development costs associated with customised products, and thereby increase the profits for the sales company, as well as enabling the customer to more quickly obtain an operational, customised chemical separation system, thus shortening delays in production, reducing the customer's costs, and in the end, increasing his profits.
To the present date, no system for configuring a chemical separation system, which gives a customer the possibility to in real-time customise said system, or a method of selling a customised chemical separation system using such a configuration system, has yet been presented.